Pope Leo XIV: Monaco bears vocation to foster social friendship
Pope Leo XIV greets residents of the Principality of Monaco
as he begins his Apostolic Journey, and encourages the small European nation to
place its material prosperity at the service of humanity, law, and justice.
By Devin Watkins
Pope Leo XIV arrived by helicopter at the heliport of the
Principality of Monaco on Saturday morning at the start of his one-day
Apostolic Journey.
Prince Albert II of Monaco greeted the Holy Father before
offering him an official welcome at the Prince’s Palace, where the two men held
talks and then greeted the thousands of people gathered in the square in front
of the Palace.
In his address, Pope Leo recalled that he is the first Pope
of the modern era to visit Monaco, which is one of the few European nations to
have the Catholic faith as its State religion, though freedom of worship is
guaranteed.
Given this deep bond between the Church of Rome and Monaco,
the Pope said he entrusts the Principality with deepening its commitment to the
Social Doctrine of the Church and carrying it out at the international level.
“Even in cultures that are not very religious and are highly
secularized,” he said, “the approach to problems characteristic of this Social
Doctrine can reveal the great light that the Gospel brings to our time—a time
in which many find it difficult to hope.”
Pope Leo recalled that Monaco overlooks the Mediterranean
Sea, and he encouraged the small nation to embrace its “vocation to promote
encounter and to foster social friendship.”
“The gift of smallness and a living spiritual heritage,” he
said, “invite you to put your prosperity at the service of law and justice,
especially at a historical moment when the display of power and the logic of
oppression are harming the world and jeopardizing peace.”
The Pope invited residents of Monaco to never give in to a sense
of powerlessness but rather to embrace their faith amid historic challenges and
responsibilities.
Monaco’s pluralistic makeup, he said, makes it a microcosm,
where a vibrant minority of local people and a majority of foreign citizens
contribute to the Principality's well-being.
“Within your community, many people hold positions of
considerable influence in the economic and financial spheres,” he said. “Many
are engaged in various kinds of service, and there are numerous visitors and
tourists.”
Pope Leo noted that the Kingdom of God shakes up the “unjust
configurations of power and structures of sin that create chasms between the
poor and the rich, between the privileged and the discarded, between friends
and enemies.”
Recalling Monaco’s Catholic heritage, he said Jesus’
sovereignty raises up all people and connects us, so that everyone is called to
protect every human life with love and none are excluded.
In conclusion, Pope Leo XIV encouraged Monaco to show the
world the depth of Catholic Social Teaching, in order to promote social
progress and guide the life of humanity.
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